In a slow moving settlement across the globe, a group of frustrated workers: have joined the participants that are organizing occupancies around the world, to discuss poverty for the 99% You may ask yourself what is the 99% : and who are they? Some media organizations, and political pundits call this group of students, and citizens struck on hard financial times – as unemployed citizens that can’t find work. Which isn’t true: some of those that are in the 99% are or have become victims of the upper 1%.
Some of the misconceptions concerning the people placing occupancies in cities around the globe are: homeless, poor – uneducated, and jobless. Those are important factors for some, and many of them they aren’t a factor. I as a writer had to look, study and envision myself on why people are placing occupancies in cities across the United States.
I have heard stories of Families being ripped apart: by the banking system – 70% of those that are in the group called: Occupy Wall St. has become victims of the financial sector. They are victims of Chase Bank, Bank of America – and the Morgan Stanley scheme of hidden fees, and marketing games against the consumer. Chase Bank, hits you with a service fee, for every-time you use your card, if you have a bank account under $2000. And the way they trick you into using the card, is giving you these imaginary give-a-ways or lotteries that will trick you into using the card. Example: For every purchase you make: 1 out of 10 times: Chase Bank will pick up the tab. Or the $500 to $10,000 cash prize for using your chase card. Yet, behind that gimmick you get a mandatory service fee of 10% on all purchases. Which means if you’re spending $100 a month using your Chase card, you will lose $15 per-month – and let us say, you don’t use the card, that’s a mandatory fee of 3% on inactivity? In other words, you’re losing $15 bucks to use the card, and $8 to $10 dollars if you don’t use the card. That all add up at the end of the year, you can be losing $500 on service fees to bank with Chase Bank. That’s all interest free moneys, that you can’t right off – you can’t claim on taxes nor do anything because it’s non-reportable to the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service doesn’t allow write-offs or tax deductions for service fees coming from banks.
And it’s known that Chase Bank has taken advantage of people – with loan modifications, closing a loan account fee: meaning if you apply for a loan, you will have to pay for the service, even if they deny you the loan. And that’s why people are screaming mad at this Chase Bank.
Bank of America:
People are coming to the streets because they have lost their homes through no fault of their own because of the practices used by Bank of America. The Chief Financial Officer of Bank of America – authorized a movement to take the income / race and socio-economics of people, and place them into sub-prime loans – even when they fully qualified for fix rate loans. And by doing that – the interest rates skyrocketed to a level on where the rates were more than the actual mortgage. Yet, the problem became a nightmare when Bank of America filed for bankruptcy protection – in order to receive FDIC subsidies for the upper management. Even though they already qualified for the tax credit – they still wanted to write-off long term debt, without a solution on repaying the loans that have already defaulted. And to make matters worse, Bank of America – place delinquent accounts into a credit collection scheme: that gave profits to the Bank of America, and a nightmare to the consumer. And then the greed of Bank of America: continued as the bank sold people loans as derivatives to an un-monitored market: (A.I.G.) making it literally impossible for the government to come in and help the consumer out, since everything was packaged together and rated triple A. A.I.G. failed, and now the people harmed by Bank of America’s practices are now taking to the streets.
Student Loans:
A lot of students are taking to the street because of a problem that is reaching epic proportions. Citi-Group, which is the largest company in the student loan business – have taken the same principals used in the Morgan Stanley’s finance scheme: (Worse than Bernie Madoff) and shipped it to students. While given students, these high interest rate loans, and no protection – even though many of these students qualify for direct loans – and placed 99% of the students in college. In jeopardy of a meltdown in the student loan business, even though banks are no-longer allowed to participate in student loans. But a student can’t file for bankruptcy protection with their student loans. Meaning they have a debt on them that can last for years to come, and may never be paid off unless they become super rich. Since the rates on the loans in each year after the maturity year – will jump 9% and 3% added on to the 9% for each year of the payment period until the loan is paid off. Can you imagine if someone took out $200,000 in student loans – that means they will be paying $20,000 on interest rates alone: at $200 extra a month on top of the loan. And if they are yield, with the 3% added means, they will never see that debt go do, and can’t do anything about it. Debt like this becomes a burden instead of a help – since it will be a liability instead of an asset. Like when companies look at your credit history, all they will see is forbearances on loans – not understanding that those where educational loans. And loan forbearances drive down or can bring up your credit rating. Meaning student loan forbearances brings up your credit rating, while normal loan forbearances bring down the ratings. And when the credit agency can’t find out whether your loan is a regular loan or a student loan – it gets placed into the sub-prime category. When you have that on your credit resume – it will be impossible for an employer to employ you because sub-prime loans are equivalent to being poor-or the implications of socio-economics. And this is why students are taking to the streets: protesting citi-group.
Tax – Breaks:
The Tea-Party Republicans elected into office in 2010 – think they are carrying out the message of the people who are mad at what happened on Wall Street. Yet, they have lost touch with the real problem, and went on full attack mode on President Barack Obama. By forcing the hand for tax-cuts for the rich, creating these super-super Political Organizations: and completely wiping out the middle class – in order to upstage President Barack Obama isn’t what they expected when they voted the Tea-Party in office! They wanted to stop the spending, but not give double bailouts to the people that created the mess we are in: and the $3 trillion dollar deficit cut they forced on the public: when they walked out of public meetings with Senator Harry Reid, Vice President Joe Biden, and President Barack Obama: only to play political games of shutting down the government in order to give tax cuts to the super rich. And then play the blame game to win an election: Republicans didn’t force these cuts – your president made them. Isn’t the type of leadership people wanted to see! And that’s why you have people taking to the streets.
This civil protest on financial matters isn’t about being jobless, poor or homeless – it’s about people trusting leaders, and corporations with managing their financial health, and leaving them in a financial mess – while they rob them blind, faster than Robin Hood can save them. And if you have been in a situation where you have a member of your family obstructed by the statements above – you are a part of the 99%.